This cover is gorgeous! I had no idea what to expect but turns out that this book topic is someone with cancer and it is so realistic.

3 1/2 stars

As a parent, I’m always looking for a book that I can read with my teens and have meaningful conversations. This is one of those books. This book will make you laugh, cry and think. It has many layers that will open the door to talk about those difficult things with your teen that you may not know how to bring up. I would definitely recommend this book.

This was an interesting concept, and I love how it dealt with cancer and a love story. I also really enjoyed her being a ballerina.

*RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY

This book was super cliche. It was the classic person who has her life planned out then BAM cancer hits and it ruins her but she somehow finds a way to do what she already did before but slightly different. The cover is gorgeous, but it did not match what I thought this was going to be. The mom was a total dick and did not see what was happening to her daughter until the very end and that made me so irritated. I also feel like Davis's need for drugs was a little bit too much (I have/never will do drugs) because in almost every chapter that he is in he mentions that he needs the drug. And I can understand because a lot is happening to him in the book but at the same time, tone it down.

The beautiful cover drew my attention and ballet has been something fascinating to me in recent years. The author drew from her personal experience with cancer to create this story which gave it an authentic feel. What held this book back was the usual YA insta-love story. There was also more telling than showing in this story and while most of the time I critique a book being too long this particular novel felt too short.

This went exactly the way I thought it would, which was a bit annoying. I enjoyed the writing overall.

This is equal parts sad and uplifting, and fair warning, you'll probably turn into an emotional cabbage by the end. It's about a ballerina who gets bone cancer...and a cancer-survivor boy who's struggling with addiction.

And you could really tell all the heart and love that went into this from an #ownvoices cancer-survivor author, and I just think it's awesome people get to share their stories. There's SO much detail of what Cason goes through with the treatments and therapy. The only thing is the writing style didn't quite work for me and I was struggling to be engaged in the story with the quite flat tone.

I know lots of people got burnt out on "sick lit" but I think this one does stand out! And I love how it focused on healing as well + discussed disability and how it's ok to grieve, but it doesn't mean you're broken or your dreams are dead.

Also hEY AT THAT COVER IT IS GLITTERY MAGIC.

I loved this story. It was meaningful, unique, and touching. This is the type of variety the YA community has desperately been needing.

I wasn't expecting to cry while reading this, but Kati Gardner's writing holds nothing back. The story is raw and harsh, more then once I had to put it down in order to catch my breath! A story of struggling, fighting and finding the strength to continue!

Marzie's review Sep 08, 2018 · edit
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3.5 Stars

Brave Enough gives us the story of Cason and Davis, two teenage cancer survivors who help each other survive and thrive. Cason, a talented ballet dancer, dances through pain to complete weeks of training and an audition for the American Ballet Theatre. After many days of telling herself the terrible pain in her leg is just a strain, she collapses during the audition, her femur crumbling, and finds out that she has Ewing's sarcoma. Cason had thought kids with cancer was merely a trite plot device. She finds the reality shatters her world, not just her femur. Davis is in recovery and not just from cancer. He's been released from rehab and is attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings because he's become addicted to pain meds, an ugly reality that we seldom hear about with respect to cancer survivors of any age. Davis struggles in recovery, lurching from wanting "just one hit" to striving to make his family, friends and doctors proud of his commitment to sobriety. He is plagued by an ex-girlfriend. Alexis, who is still and addict, and their dealer, Ethan, who menaces Davis in multiple ways. As part of Davis's recovery and juvenile sentencing, he is ordered to do community service at the same cancer hospital he worked out. The lure of stealing some of those pain meds is balanced with the personal knowledge of just how much the children in the cancer ward need their pain medication. Davis keeps pushing Ethan and his demands away. It's here that he meets Cason, in treatment for her cancer, who attended his same high school. They had always been in different circles (Cason was in barely any circle since her entire life was about ballet) but now their lives overlap because of their cancer experience. They provide support for one another and hope for their futures.

Gardner is herself a Ewing's Sarcoma survivor, though she was younger than her protagonist Cason when she was diagnosed. She brings authenticity to the patient experience but where I struggled in this book was the lack of depth and insight into the abusive relationship between Cason and her mother, Natalie. Although we see Cason snarking about her mother being more artistic director than mother, and there are passages where Natalie finally seems to come to terms with the fact that Cason has cancer and will never dance as she did before, the unhealthy dynamic felt glossed over. It is hard to believe that years of such a controlling relationship could be resolved in the months that this book covers in Cason's life. This is a parent who had her daughter dancing through indescribable pain, as her femur turned to mush. Who controlled every corner of her daughter's life.

The value of this YA book lies in promoting empathy in young people. Cason, Davis and all the other kids' lives have been upended by cancer. You can substitute any other potentially fatal acute or chronic health condition that roars into a young person's life and leaves them forever changed.

I received an ARC of this book from Flux Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn to Kati Gardner’s Brave Enough due to the cover, after completing the book it is clear the cover isn’t the only thing that stands out about this story.

I loved the fact Brave Enough was written based on the author’s own experience with cancer, and this aspect gave the story more authentic feel to me. I went into this novel thinking I understood cancer and its aftermath, but I was so wrong and I am thankful for the additional understanding I gained through reading Gardner’s novel.

Brave Enough is a heartbreaking-coming-of-age story told through two POVs: Cason and Davis. Cason’s story was inspiring to read. Going from a talented ballerina with a promising future, to being suddenly diagnosed with cancer and losing a limb. Through Cason’s journey she not only allowed herself to grieve for what she lost, but pushes through her pain/fears/anger and came out a stronger person. Davis was also a great character, though his cancer didn’t have much involvement in the story besides the connection with Cason, his story was inspiring in its own right. The way his struggle with addiction is depicted has a very raw and authentic feel to it. The secondary characters were fantastic and gave more insight to how cancer survivors of all types cope with their experiences.

There were some small issues: the story felt rushed in some areas, and lagged in others; and there was also a few occasions where the dialogue lacked backstory. Overall this is a great YA debut novel, and I would recommend it to all.

This one didn't exactly start on a high note for me. There were a few things I appreciated. There's no miraculous recovery. Cancer is a constant struggle. loss and change. It's about finding new dreams when everything you use to define yourself is taken away. The turning point with her mother happened sooner and more completely than I expected. It's sudden and not entirely in character but opens up space for the rest of the plot. Additionally, the addiction plot isn't simple. It too is an ongoing struggle. Even the conclusion isn't life on the mend. It's struggling, treatment, and fear.

I did not know about the novel but when I saw the cover, but I had to see what the story was about! It must be said that the illustrator did a very nice job! Well, I think I read the synopsis too quickly because I thought at first that it was the story about an injured dancer. But it’s true that finally, it was much more than that!

Cason had her destiny all drawn. Since childhood, dance is her life and her mother encourages her and forms her to be the best in this field. But then, during a big audition and while she hid a wound she thought benign, she collapses on stage at the end of the program. But what she thought was something curable is worse than expected … cancer. Davis is a former addict, but even though he is sober for 7 months, the temptation is ubiquitous and his fight is much more difficult than people think. Thus, during his community service, he meets Cason, a girl from his high school he never spoke to. Together, and by helping one another, they will try to move forward, to progress and to rebuild. However this path is not linear and it will have many ups and downs. Something very difficult to achieve, but together, maybe they will do it.

It’s a very beautiful and touching story. Everything is not rosy, everything can not work out in a snap of a finger but they will have to accept what is happening and try to override it so they don’t sink. I really liked the author’s aptness to make us understand that what they do on their own is like an insurmountable ordeal, that they have decided to fight and we hope that in the end they will succeed.

Now today I am so excited to share my thoughts on not only a new release last month but a debut author as well. Brave Enough by Kati Gardner. The cover was so beautiful it made me click and then the summary just touched my heart and that was it for me I knew I had to get my hands on it. I was lucky enough to snag myself an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review so here goes.

Rating: 4 Stars

Cason Martin is a prima ballerina at the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory. The best. She has spent her life at dancing t was never a choice with her mother being the artistic director making all of her decisions. Cason is dedicated and willing to do whatever it takes….even pushing past pain and injury. Though it is much worse than she imagined. On the flip side Davis Channing is struggling in his own way, having beat cancer and living with his drug addiction that nearly killed him. Staying clean isn't always easy when your past is always there in front of you. Cason and Davis hardly know of the other but their worlds collide that all changes.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't super plot / action driven but more a journey story and I can enjoy those. I could tell as I read, even before reading the authors note, that this is a very personal story for the author wanting to see people like herself represented in books. They way she writes it shows this depth of understanding and authenticity which is pretty great. There were some things happening which I thought were awesome as the story moved along quickly for me but it felt more like a misplaced. Not bad just felt a bit odd story wise after, like a too soon climax. This also happened a few times when a chapter would end and we'd time jump. Sometimes we didn't immediately know and it was from things mentioned or things happening around them that made you think you missed something then "it's been "x" amount of weeks since my audition" so you realize they jumped. This was okay and again the story went by quickly just at times it was a smidge jarring. It also took away some of the moments between Cason and Davis and while I totally loved them together it was a bit sudden.

Cason and Davis are both struggling with major things. Things I don't see as much in my YA reading and I was happen to have it front and center. I loved the idea that just because of cancer or drug addiction the struggle of being more than that label. How you might have described yourself one way, now the first thing someone sees is something else, something you can't control. Understanding from both of their heads what it is like in their struggles from small things that are their new every day to the larger more complex issues really came through. However, while I enjoyed them as characters I thought they could have been a bit more developed. Like they did that to themselves as well, confining themselves to one thing. With Cason it makes sense before she was a dancer, that was her sole focus in life, making things that much more real for her. But with Davis we don't learn much about him aside from cancer and drugs. I would have liked to know more about him as a whole before the drugs. I got enough of him and his character to adore him and want things to be better for him but still a bit more would have rounded him out more.

I found the story pretty uplifting overall and again I really flew through it. I enjoyed it and was smiling for a vast majority of the time reading it and yes I admit to tearing up as well at times. Things can get dark but that is the nature of life. I really enjoyed this story and while there were a couple small things I think could have made it even better nothing I "disliked" as it were turned me away from the story just made me want more and that is a huge yay because who doesn't want more of what they like! I would recommend this for sure! This journey was one I am glad I was along for the ride.

Thank you North Star & NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

This is an absolutely delightful YA read - compelling, heartwarming and inspiring in all the right ways. I completely flew through this read, it was so fast paced and filled with tiny cliffhangers that kept you holding on, desperate to see what is going to happen to these characters you fall in love with.

Synopsis: Cason is a tremendously talented ballerina, who has been hiding an injury that explodes to destroy her entire life as she knew it. Davis is a cancer survivor and recovering drug addict who is struggling to put the pieces of his life back together. Their worlds collide one day in the children's ward of the oncology hospital where Cason is learning a new normal, and Davis is fighting to stay sober and reset his path.


Kati Gardener is wonderfully talented at writing characters who you can connect with, sympathize for and cheer on wildly, hoping that they are going to get a happy ever after, after all. I completely appreciated that she wrote both Cason and Davis as very real, struggling humans, who weren't able to immediately rebound from every setback, and who spent good chunks of time in dark places. It felt very honest and true to the paths they were on - and didn't shy away from the fact that a cancer diagnosis and drug addiction are not going to be easy to fight through.

While there was some sense of repetitiveness to their individual mental spaces, it made sense for who they are, and didn't slow down the story in any way. I loved that the plot clipped along, never getting to heavily weighted down by heaviness of the content.

This was a wonderful story, and one that readers will fall head over heels in love with in no time at all.

Trigger Warning: This book blatantly deals with a struggling drug recovery, and the realities of the desire to use. If addiction is a trigger for you, please proceed with caution.

**I received an ARC from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review**

2.5 ⭐️

Right off the bat we are thrown straight into the story, which can be a good thing, but in this case I wasn’t a fan.

Cason, the main character, was my least favourite character. I found her to be annoying and whiny. The only character that I slightly liked and cared about was Davis. I also found the romance between Davis and Cason to be very much insta love.

Overall I found the plot to be pretty boring and almost nonexistent. Around the last 25% off the book it starts to pick up slightly and get a bit more interesting which helped redeem this book for me.

I did really like the message the author was trying to convey, but in my opinion it wasn’t executed as well as it could have been and I think it was because of the characters that the message didn’t convey as well as it could have been.

The message the author try’s to convey and the ending of the book are the only things that helped redeem this book for me and are the only reason I gave it a 2.5 star rating and not lower. I also have to say the cover of this book is really beautiful and was the main reason this book caught my attention in the first place.

In the end I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

My Review: I was immediately attracted to this book because of the cover and the mention of ballet. I have always loved books where the character is involved with dance in some way, though I don't often read YA contemporary anymore, I really wanted to give this one a shot. I found it to be very reminiscent of the Lurlene McDaniels books I consumed as a teenager. The one major difference was that Cason's perspective was much more true to life with major emotions. I really liked reading her story and the way she developed as a character and influenced those around her. On the other hand I was not a fan of Davis, I clearly did not read the full synopsis because I am not a fan of drug abuse being a part of the books I read, even recovery and sober. Though again his struggle was very real and it was clear that one never fully recovers from an addiction, it is a constant battle. I am glad that the bit of romance did not completely take over the story line but it did add that bit of connection and support that was needed for the characters to move forward.

My Rating: Being that this is a bit out of my wheel house, I still enjoyed the story and the character development. I give it a rating of Three Paws.

The intensity & grit of Ellen Hopkins meets Fault in Our Stars to create an unlikely captivating teenage romance. I’m... floored. I read more than half in one sitting because I couldn’t believe the events that were occurring. Trying to decide if I’d have liked it more if there was more beautiful prose to surround the raw story, but I’m leaning towards no. Everything happens fast and it’s easy to inhale, a perfect YA. Wow. Will have to look out for more from Gardner, who also experienced & survived childhood cancer, in the future.

Title: Brave Enough
Author: Kati Gardner
Genre: YA
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Cason Martin is the youngest dancer at the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory. She’s driven and determined, and she’s never really even considered if she wanted to dance. She never had a choice: her mother is the demanding artistic director at the conservatory and will not accept Cason being anything less than the best.

On the day of Cason’s injury, that ceases to matter, as an injury she’s been hiding turns out to be cancer. Now she finds herself in a children’s cancer ward, fighting to live and to come to terms with her new normal. Davis Channing knows how that feels. He survived cancer, and then beat drug addiction, although he lives with the temptation to use again every day. Volunteering at the cancer ward is his way to give back.

Cason and Davis’s friendship is tenuous, but what they both need, until his ex-girlfriend appears in his life, eager to lure him down old roads again, while the unthinkable happens to Cason. Turning their backs on each other is easiest, but is it what they really need?

Let me first say that I’ve never read The Fault in Our Stars, so I can’t make any comparisons to that novel (and I have no intention of reading it, because almost never will I choose to read a book that I know will make me cry. #sorrynotsorry). I found Brave Enough to be one of the most touching and inspiring books I’ve read this year. I felt for Cason on a deep level, and truly experienced her grief and other emotions along with her. Davis’s struggle was so well-done and brought an addict’s struggle to gut-wrenching life. Highly recommend!

Katie Gardner is a childhood cancer survivor, amputee, and a recovering actor. Brave Enough is her debut novel.

(Galley provided by North Star Editions/Flux in exchange for an honest review.)

This book follows two main protagonists, Cason and Davis, a girl and boy with very different lives, that intersect in the most unexpected way - cancer. What I love about the depiction of cancer in this book was that it was not referred to as something you 'just get over', but as something that you live with for the rest of your life. Basically, it is your lifestyle...

Cason was a stunning ballet dancer, before tragedy struck her. And Davis was in remission, but had a drug problem. With this, I also like that the addiction is not shown as something with a permanent cure, but something you learn to live with.

Both of their moms are complete opposites from one another. Cason's mom is this perfectionist ballet fanatic, who clearly wants to deny that Cason is sick in the first place, thinking of cancer as a minor setback. But she does do a complete 180 later when tragedy strikes them a second time. Davis' mother is the wonderful, warm and caring kind. She completely supports her child and makes time to also support others too.

The writing is superb! This book has so many layers and I've only touched the edges of the main plot. If you enjoy yelling at characters and having books drive you to tears, I would highly suggest picking this novel up. Kati's raw and real depiction of the situations present in this book will have you enamoured with the characters and want to keep reading...